SUNYIT’s 40 ^thannual commencement will honor hundreds of graduates Saturday, May 10, starting at 10 a.m., in the Wildcat Field House. More than 650 candidates who became eligible for graduation from August 2013 through the end of the 2013-2014 academic year are eligible to take part in the ceremony.

 The keynote speaker will be inventor and entrepreneur Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), a New Hampshire-based not-for-profit organization which seeks to inspire young people’s interest and participation in science and technology through programs that motivate the pursuit of education and career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math, while building self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills. Also during the ceremony, students will present a class gift, and there will be other recognitions in addition to the awarding of degrees. A reception in the Student Center will follow the two-hour ceremony. Commencement weekend also includes a number of other events, such as hooding ceremonies for degree candidates in some graduate programs, and the annual academic awards banquet which will be held in the Wildcat Field House on Friday, May 9, starting at 6 p.m.

SUNYIT, the State University of New York Institute of Technology at Utica/Rome, is New York’s public polytechnic, offering undergraduate and graduate degree programs in technology and professional studies. Its academic offerings in technology, including engineering, cybersecurity, computer science, and the engineering technologies, and its programs in professional studies, including business, communication, and nursing, are complemented by athletics, recreational, cultural and campus life programs, events and activities. Founded in 1966, SUNYIT is a unique high-tech learning environment on hundreds of acres, offering degree programs online as well as on campus. The SUNYIT family of alumni now numbers 25,000.